Divine Level Witch Doctor

”That’s strange. Vacation is about to start, so why would Director Yang be calling me to his office?”

Hanging up, Zhao Yuan was completely bewildered. Yang Jingbo had been vague on the phone, only saying that something good had happened and that he should come to the office. When he asked for specifics, Yang Jingbo just played coy and wouldn’t give him a straight answer.

”Maybe they’re giving you a scholarship?” Liu Zhu sidled up to him, his face full of envy. ”Not only did you rank first in the entire year on the final exams, but you even got your test paper published in the Chinese Medicine journal. That’s completely unprecedented! Our school got some major bragging rights because of you. I heard that Principal Ma’s favorite pastime recently is calling up the principals of other medical schools to show off.”

Zhao Yuan shook his head. ”I doubt it. Aren’t scholarships handed out at the start of the new semester?”

”Maybe they made an exception for you? Hey, if you really get that scholarship, don’t forget to treat us!” Wang Rongfeng chimed in, ready to fleece the newly rich.

Zhao Yuan laughed. ”No problem. If I get a scholarship, I’ll definitely treat you guys.”

After chatting with his dorm brothers for a bit, Zhao Yuan was about to leave the room. But just then, his phone rang again.

This time, the caller was Director Ma from the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

”Director Ma, what can I do for you?” Zhao Yuan asked as he answered the phone.

Director Ma sounded very happy, his cheerful laughter audible even over the phone. ”Oh, nothing so formal! I just have some good news for you. Get over to my office, quick.”

”Huh?” Zhao Yuan froze. ’This whole spiel, these exact words... why does it all sound so familiar?’ he thought. Wasn’t that exactly what Yang Jingbo had just said on the phone?

Full of curiosity, Zhao Yuan asked, ”Director Ma, what is this good news, exactly? Can you at least give me a hint?”

Director Ma also played coy, chuckling as he said, ”Patience, now. Just come to my office. You’ll find out when you get here.”

After hanging up, Zhao Yuan shook his head with a wry smile. ’What’s with these two? Did they plan this together?’ he wondered. Still, he figured two department directors wouldn’t be messing with him for no reason. ’Might as well go and see what’s up.’

He had just stepped out of his dorm room when his phone rang yet again.

Zhao Yuan was speechless. Back in the dorm, Liu Zhu, Wang Rongfeng, and Wu Yan couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Wu Yan joked, ”Third Bro, you’re a real VIP now. The phone never stops ringing.”

Zhao Yuan shook his head and glanced at his phone. The caller this time was Qiu Haogu, the head of the Medical Ancient Texts research group.

As soon as the call connected, Zhao Yuan asked, ”Elder Qiu, don’t tell me you also have good news and want me to come to your office?”

On the other end of the line, Qiu Haogu was clearly taken aback. He then asked in surprise, ”Hey, how did you know?”

Zhao Yuan explained, ”Director Yang and Director Ma just called me and said pretty much the same thing. Elder Qiu, what on earth is this good news that has all of you calling me one after another?”

”What? Xiaoyang and Xiaoma already called you? Those two! They sure move fast!” Qiu Haogu said through gritted teeth, sounding quite displeased with Yang Jingbo and Director Ma. He quickly added, ”Zhao Yuan, never mind Xiaoyang and Xiaoma, just get to my office right away… Hmm, on second thought, I’ll come to you. Where are you?”

”Uh… I’m in my dorm,” Zhao Yuan said, scratching his head. He couldn’t understand why Qiu Haogu was in such a rush—so much so that he was offering to come find him. ”Elder Qiu, what exactly is this good news?”

Qiu Haogu said, ”It’s too much to explain over the phone. You stay right there in your dorm. Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be there in a moment. I’ll give you the details when I arrive. And one more thing—if anyone else calls you, don’t answer. Just wait for me, understand?”

The more he listened, the more confused Zhao Yuan became. He wanted to ask more, but Qiu Haogu was in such a hurry that he hung up before Zhao Yuan could get another word in.

”What in the world is going on…” Zhao Yuan couldn’t help but mutter. After a moment’s thought, he headed back into the dorm. After all, Elder Qiu himself was rushing over. It would be incredibly rude to leave now.

”Third Bro, what are you doing back?” his three dorm brothers asked, puzzled to see him return so soon.

Zhao Yuan gave a wry smile. ”Don’t even get me started. A bunch of directors and professors kept calling, telling me to go to their offices, but none of them would say why. Elder Qiu was even more direct—as soon as he heard Director Yang and Director Ma had called, he insisted on coming to the dorm to find me.”

”Getting Elder Qiu to make a personal trip… among all the students, you’re probably the only one who could manage that,” Liu Zhu said, his face full of admiration.

Wang Rongfeng, however, had a different take. ”What are you all standing around for? Let’s clean this place up! We need to make a good impression on Elder Qiu. We’re not like Zhao Yuan, about to become a lecturer as a freshman. We’ll have to apply for master’s and doctoral programs someday, and it’s best to be on Elder Qiu’s good side. A lot of the graduate and doctoral advisors at this school took his classes. If he’s willing to put in a good word for us, do you think we’d have any trouble finding a good supervisor?”

Liu Zhu and Wu Yan saw the logic in that. The three of them immediately launched into a flurry of cleaning, managing to get the dorm room spotless, without a speck of dust in sight, just before Qiu Haogu arrived.

Zhao Yuan pitched in and helped with the work.

His phone rang several more times during this process. He didn’t follow Qiu Haogu’s advice to ignore the calls; after all, the callers were department directors.

As soon as he answered, the person on the other end would ask why he hadn’t arrived yet. Zhao Yuan didn’t hide anything, simply explaining that Elder Qiu was on his way to see him.

After hearing Zhao Yuan out, both Yang Jingbo and Director Ma bellowed the exact same response: ”What? Elder Qiu is going directly to your dorm? That damn old fox, he’s too cunning!”

An old fox?

Zhao Yuan rubbed his nose, tilted his head to gaze at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, and pretended he hadn’t heard a thing.

After roundly ”criticizing” Qiu Haogu, both men said something remarkably similar: ”Zhao Yuan, listen to me. When Elder Qiu gets there, no matter how incredible his offer sounds, don’t you dare agree to anything. Wait until I get there before you decide!”

”Huh? You’re coming over, too?” Zhao Yuan asked, stunned.

”I have to!” both men replied through gritted teeth. Without giving Zhao Yuan another chance to ask a question, they hung up, bolted from their respective offices, and sprinted in the direction of his dorm. Along the way, the two men unexpectedly ran into each other. They froze for a second, then realization dawned, and a fierce competition began as they started running even faster!

Back in the dorm room, Zhao Yuan was left utterly baffled, unable to comprehend what had gotten into all these directors and professors.